Aurora: Decima – Where to next?

Aurora: Decima is about to hit the online stores! At book six, we are now well past halfway and very quickly approaching the climax of the series. What started out as a seemingly simple mission for the team in Aurora: Darwin (Aurora 1) has grown in complexity with each book, until it finally blew wide in Aurora: Centralis (Aurora 4). Over the past five books in the series, the Aurora team have won some of their battles and they’ve lost some – and we’ve lost some of our favourite characters as well. So what can readers expect from this latest chapter in the lives of Carrie, Harris and the Aurora team?

All the various threads that have been dangled in front of readers so far, are slowly being brought together in time for the final climax. Aurora: Decima sees the past of the UNF (Colonel Welles and the ‘Originals’) merging with the present UNF (Carrie, Harris and the Aurora team), along with the emerging future of the UNF (Carrie’s children). Essentially, at its very core, the Aurora series is the tale of three generations of the Welles family caught up in the ongoing classified programs of the UNF – and how one man, Captain Saul Harris, becomes entwined with them all. And how, together, the fate of the world will depend on them.

So Decima sees these three elements coming together – the past, the present and the future of the UNF. But what about the different factions within each of these? The UNF has always been divided into, and had rivalry between, the Earth Duty Division (the ‘Green Guys’) and the Space Duty Division (the ‘Blue Boys’). Then there are those on the outside with knowledge of UNFASP, both for and against it, such as ex-soldiers, scientists, politicians, etc. And then there are those who know the UNF is up to something and want to find out what it is, like a certain reporter from the Universal Press. As with real life, nothing is ever straight forward for Harris and Carrie . . .

So, before you read Aurora: Decima to find out what happens next, let’s recap where we left Carrie and Harris at the end of book five – Aurora: Eden.

Captain Saul Harris had a lot on his mind after Eden, namely the Aurora team’s narrow win over Drazen’s Jumbos. His dreams of the early invasion were continuing and he knew there was much work to be done, he just wasn’t sure how to go about it. The UNF would think him crazy if he told them the truth. Taya, his wife, was pregnant with their second child, while their first child, Ty, now well into his teen years was growing more independent by the day, and so too was the distance between father and son. With each book, Harris has struggled to find the balance between saving his team (and the world), and taking care of his family. Will he get it right in Decima?

Sergeant Carrie Welles, was recovering from the attack in Eden and had been ordered to move into the Fortress, a high-tech house equipped with its own Artificial Intelligence System – named Archie. Harris had confided in her the truth about his gift, and she had accepted this and had begun sharing his dreams of the early invasion and the big war to come. She had also begun a clandestine affair with First Lieutenant James McKinley . . . As with the events in Eden, all of Carrie’s past missions have affected her. But have they worn her down or have they just made her stronger?

And what about the other characters in the series?

At the end of Eden, Harris was informed that Professor Sharley had survived his suicide attempt, which means that he remained an ongoing threat to Carrie and her children . . .

Colonel Welles, having finally reconciled with his daughter, had made it his priority to look out for Carrie and her children, even if that meant getting pulled back into the UNF . . .

Corporal Sabrina Colt had been captured by Drazen’s men and was being held prisoner, while her fellow hostage, Professor LeFroy, was following his orders and turning her into a Jumbo . . .

First Lieutenant Gold of UNF Carcharias had made the decision to hack his captain’s portal and find out once and for all what was going on with the Aurora team – and what it meant for his own . . .

Miranda Finch, the UNF liaison at Universal Press, was still fixated on Captain Harris and determined to find out his story . . .

Captain Morrell of Earth Duty wasn’t happy about the ‘Blue Boys’ spending so much time around Command. Centralis was his domain after all . . .

Admiral Arken of the UNF Barbican, the UNF’s biggest warship, was on a mission to discover what lay behind the source of the Zeta signals. And enroute they had received a response earlier than expected . . .

One thing is for sure, Aurora: Decima is most epic Aurora book to date. Told from several perspectives, each character in this book is tied in some way to the UNF Advanced Soldier Program (UNFASP), and all are important players in the lead up to the climax of this series. Spanning eight years and culminating in the first invasion that Harris and Carrie have been dreaming of, Decima promises readers plenty of the drama, action and intrigue they’ve come to expect. And, yes, there will be some surprises too . . .

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About Amanda Bridgeman

Author of the science fiction space opera series, AURORA, Amanda Bridgeman studied film & television/creative writing at Murdoch University (BA Communication Studies) and has been published by Pan Macmillan. Aurora:Meridian was a finalist for Best Science Fiction Novel (Aurealis).